Rheological properties of liquid metals and semisolid materials at low solid fraction

Rheological properties of liquid metals are difficult to investigate experimentally because of the extreme border conditions to consider. One difficulty is related to the low viscosity of liquid metals. Surface tension effects can cause forces that can be considerably higher than the viscous forces in the liquid metals. Evaluating the experimental data without considering these effects leads to an apparent shear thinning behavior of the material. In the present study, experiments were performed by means of a Searle rheometer changing the dimension of the measuring system with metals of high surface tension, as mercury and tin. It became evident that surface tension plays a significant role in the effects that falsify measurements at low shear rate. Conclusions can be drawn to what extent measurements of semi-solid metals are affected.